Method and apparatus for providing information associated with media content

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided for providing information associated with media contents are provided. The method comprises broadcasting a communication address associated with a playing device configured to play the media contents, the broadcasted communication address enables a user terminal device to communicate with the playing device; receiving, from the user terminal device, a request to acquire information associated with the media contents; determining an identifier associated with the information; and transmitting the identifier to the user terminal device. The identifier enables the user terminal device to acquire the information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/864,308, filed on Sep. 24, 2015, which is based upon and claimspriority to Chinese Patent Application No. 201410509697.5, filed on Sep.28, 2014, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by referencein their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to the field of media contentprocessing, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus forproviding information associated with media content.

BACKGROUND

In this information age, there are many ways for people to acquireinformation. For example, large-screen playing devices can be foundeverywhere in public places such as department store, brand store,subway, and airport. Large volume of multi-media content is displayed onthose devices. When a user sees the media content being displayed on thelarge screen playing devices, the user may want to acquire moreinformation associated with the media content being displayed.

As an illustrative example, a consumer at a subway station sees that alarge screen is playing a video of a product, and is interested in theproduct. The consumer may want to acquire more information about theproduct. Typically, the consumer can log into the network by using aportable device (e.g., a mobile phone) to search for the product usingkeywords. The search will generate a voluminous set of data, and theconsumer will have to sift through the data to find the information thatis relevant to the product. While an advertisement-to-sale conversionmay occur, the conversion process (including the search andpost-processing of the search result) is inefficient, resulting in loweradvertisement-to-sale ratio. Moreover, such a process of acquiringinformation can require complicated operation by a user, while alsotaking up huge amount of network resources.

In order to provide information in a more efficient manner, acommonly-used technique in the prior art is insertion of atwo-dimensional code in an image picture being displayed on the largescreen. A viewer can then scan the two-dimensional code with an Appinstalled in a portable terminal, to acquire additional informationabout the image being currently displayed.

While this technique is convenient for gathering information, it has anumber of short-comings. First, implanting a two-dimensional codepicture in an image affects the completeness of the image, which affectsits aesthetic appearance as well as a quality of the video displaying ofthe image. Moreover, scanning a two-dimensional code requires a longtime and comes with a risk of, for example, the two-dimensional codedisappearing in the video display before the scanning is completed.Further, for accurate scanning, the portal terminal (installed with theApp for scanning the code) needs to be aimed at a two-dimensional codezone. It is difficult to maintain the scanning accuracy among multipleusers, who can be scanning at different angles and from differentdistances. Moreover, for a public large screen, the user is typicallylocated at a long a distance from the screen, making it even moredifficult to acquire the two-dimensional code information accurately andefficiently.

Therefore, there is a need for a technique to provide informationassociated with media content being displayed on a display screen, whichenables a user to acquire the information more efficiently andaccurately.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a computer-implemented method forproviding information associated with media contents. The methodcomprises: broadcasting a communication address associated with aplaying device configured to play the media contents, the broadcastedcommunication address enables a user terminal device to communicate withthe playing device; receiving, from the user terminal device, a requestto acquire information associated with the media contents; determiningan identifier associated with the information; and transmitting theidentifier to the user terminal device. The identifier enables the userterminal device to acquire the information.

In some embodiments, the identifier includes a network addressassociated with a location that stores the information.

In some embodiments, the identifier is associated with a network addressassociated with a location that stores the information. The identifierenables the user terminal device to acquire the network address.

In some embodiments, the identifier is associated with a name of a filethat stores one of the media contents; wherein determining an identifierassociated with the information comprises: acquiring the name of thefile; and determining the identifier based on the acquired name of thefile.

In some embodiments, the identifier includes a first sub-identifier anda second sub-identifier, the first sub-identifier being associated witha name of a file that stores the media contents, and a secondsub-identifier being associated with a playing period of one of themedia contents; wherein the network address is associated with the firstand second sub-identifiers. The determining of an identifier associatedwith the information comprises: acquiring the name of the file;determining a playing time period according to a progress of playing thefile; and determining the first and second sub-identifiers based on theacquired name and the determined playing time period.

In some embodiments, the user terminal device and the playing devicecommunicate via an unauthenticated wireless connection.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide acomputer-implemented method for acquiring information associated withmedia content. The method comprises: determining, from a broadcastmessage, a communication address of a playing device configured to playthe media content; transmitting a request to acquire informationassociated with the media content to the determined communicationaddress; receiving an identifier associated with the media content; andacquiring the information based on the identifier.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide acomputer-implemented method for associating identifiers with mediacontents. The method comprises: acquiring a listing of media contentsfrom a playing device configured to play the media contents; anddetermining, based on the listing, a mapping table that associatesidentifiers with the media contents, the identifiers being generated toidentify information associated with the media contents. The mappingtable enables the playing device to provide an identifier in response toa request for information associated with one of the media contents,while the identifier provided by the playing device enables acquiringthe information associated with one of the media contents.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises acquiring one or morenetwork addresses of locations that store the information associatedwith the media contents; associating the identifiers with the one ormore network addresses; and providing one of the network addresses inresponse to receiving a request that includes one of the identifiers.The providing of the one of the network addresses enables acquiring theinformation associated with one of the media contents.

In some embodiments, each of the identifiers is generated for each ofthe media contents in the listing.

In some embodiments, the one of the network addresses is provided via anauthenticated wireless connection.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide an apparatus forproviding information associated with media contents, the apparatuscomprising a processor being configured to: broadcast a communicationaddress associated with a playing device configured to play the mediacontents, the broadcasted communication address enables a user terminaldevice to communicate with the playing device; receive, from the userterminal device, a request to acquire information associated with themedia contents; determine an identifier associated with the information;and transmit the identifier to the user terminal device. The identifierenables the user terminal device to acquire the information.

In some embodiments, the identifier is associated with a name of a filethat stores one of the media contents; wherein determining an identifierassociated with the information comprises the processor being configuredto: acquire the name of the file; and determine the identifier based onthe acquired name of the file.

In some embodiments, the identifier includes a first sub-identifier anda second sub-identifier, the first sub-identifier being associated witha name of a file that stores the media contents, and a secondsub-identifier being associated with a playing period of one of themedia contents; wherein the network address is associated with the firstand second sub-identifiers; wherein determining an identifier associatedwith the information comprises the processor being configured to:acquire the name of the file; determine a playing time period accordingto a progress of playing the file; and determine the first and secondsub-identifiers based on the acquired name and the determined playingtime period.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide an apparatus foracquiring information associated with media content, the apparatuscomprising the processor being configured to: determine, from abroadcast message, a communication address of a playing deviceconfigured to play the media content; transmit a request to acquireinformation associated with the media content to the determinedcommunication address; receive an identifier associated with the mediacontent; and acquire the information based on the identifier.

Embodiments of the present disclosure also provide an apparatus forassociating identifiers with media contents, the apparatus comprising aprocessor being configured to: acquire a listing of media contents froma playing device configured to play the media contents; and determine,based on the listing, a mapping table that associates identifiers withthe media contents, the identifiers being generated to identifyinformation associated with the media contents. The mapping tableenables the playing device to provide an identifier in response to arequest for information associated with one of the media contents, whilethe identifier provided by the playing device enables acquiring theinformation associated with one of the media contents.

In some embodiments, the processor is further configured to: acquire oneor more network addresses of locations that store the informationassociated with the media contents; associate the identifiers with theone or more network addresses; and provide one of the network addressesin response to receiving a request that includes one of the identifiers.The providing of the one of the network addresses enables acquiring theinformation associated with one of the media contents.

Additional objects and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will beset forth in part in the following description, and in part will beapparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of theembodiments. The objects and advantages of the disclosed embodiments maybe realized and attained by the elements and combinations set forth inthe claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system for displaying mediacontent and providing information associated with the media contentbeing displayed, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for providing informationassociated with media content, consistent with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for acquiring informationassociated with media content, consistent with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for associating mediacontent with identifiers of information associated with the mediacontent, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for acquiring associationinformation between media content and identifiers of informationassociated with the media content, consistent with embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for generating associationinformation between identifiers of information and network locations ofthe information, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary apparatus for providinginformation associated with media content, consistent with embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an exemplary apparatus for acquiringinformation associated with media content, consistent with embodimentsof the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary apparatus for associatingmedia content with identifiers of information associated with the mediacontent, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an exemplary apparatus for acquiringassociation information between media content and identifiers ofinformation associated with the media content, consistent withembodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an exemplary apparatus for generatingassociation information between identifiers of information and networklocations of the information, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examplesof which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The followingdescription refers to the accompanying drawings in which the samenumbers in different drawings represent the same or similar elementsunless otherwise represented. The implementations set forth in thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments do not represent allimplementations consistent with the invention. Instead, they are merelyexamples of apparatuses and methods consistent with aspects related tothe invention as recited in the appended claims.

The present disclosure provides systems and a method for providinginformation associated with media contents. An apparatus can broadcast acommunication address associated with a playing device configured toplay the media contents. The broadcasted communication address enables auser terminal device to communication with the playing device. Afterbroadcasting the communication address, the apparatus can receive, fromthe user terminal device, a request to acquire information associatedwith the media contents. The apparatus can then determine an identifierassociated with the information, and transmit the identifier to the userterminal device. The identifier enables the user terminal device toacquire the information. With such an arrangement, a form of“multi-screen interaction” can be provided to enable a user to acquiremore information related to media content being displayed on a largescreen. With this form of multi-screen interaction, when a certainprogram is being displayed on a large-screen device, a portable devicecan be used to perform interaction with the information being displayedon the large-screen device. The portable device can be a tabletcomputer, a smart phone, a wearable device (such as a smart watch), orthe like. For example, when a program, a movie, music or a video gamebeing played on a large screen (e.g., a television), information relatedto the content being displayed can be synchronously displayed on theportable device.

Typically, a display device (e.g., a smart TV) may be communicativelycoupled with a portable device (e.g., a smart phone) through a localarea network, to implement multi-screen interaction. The local areanetwork can be implemented through WiFi. The smart TV and the smartphone can perform mutual transmission of data based on a communicationprotocol of sharing multi-media data between heterogeneous devices in alocal area network, to implement multi-screen interaction between thesmart TV and the smart phone. The specific communication protocol caninclude, for example, Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA), Apple™Airplay™, and the like. This form of multi-screen interaction typicallyinvolves transferring a video being viewed on the smart phone to the TVfor continued viewing, and the like.

Large-screen playing devices mounted at a public place (e.g., subwaystation, airport, department store, etc.) are mostly in an offline stateand are not connected to any local area network. The media content beingplayed is mostly stored locally at the playing device (for example, at aUSB disk, an SD card, a mobile hard disk, and the like, which thentransmit the data to the playing device). Embodiments of the presentdisclosure provide methods and apparatus that allow multi-screeninteraction between an offline display device and another portableterminal, where there is no local area network to connect the displaydevice with the portable terminal.

Embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented with a playingdevice such as a video rod, a media box, a personal computer (PC), asmart TV, and the like. Embodiments of the present disclosure enabledisplaying of different (but related) information between the screenconnected to the play device and at the portable terminal. As anillustrative example, while the playing device is displaying anadvertisement of a certain product or a service, the playing device (oran apparatus coupled with it) can also provide information associatedwith the advertisement to a user terminal device, such as sales andprices of the product or the service, an e-commerce platform that sellsthe product or the service, etc., which can be acquired and displayed atthe user terminal device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 100 for displayingmedia content, and providing information associated with the mediacontent being displayed, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure. System 100 includes a display screen 102, a playing device104, a user terminal device 106, a management device 108, and a server110.

In some embodiments, playing device 104 comprise a media player 112, astorage device 116, and an interaction device 118. An offline mediafile, which can be in the format of a video, audio, Flash, a picture,and the like, can be stored in storage device 116. Playing device 104further includes media player 112, which is configured to generate amedia stream and to transmit the media stream to display screen 102through an HDMI interface, enabling display screen 102 to display themedia data as a first screen. In some embodiments, playing device 104can be a HDMI dongle device.

Interaction device 118 is configured to perform interaction with userterminal device 106. For example, interaction device 118 can include awireless communication module and the like, and can broadcastperiodically a communication address. When media player 112 is playingthe media file, upon receiving a request from user terminal device 106,playing device 104 may push, through interaction device 118,identification information configured to identify information associatedwith media content included in the media file. As an illustrativeexample, user terminal device 106 may detect a certain operation, suchas a touch screen operation, or a shaking action of the terminal device.User terminal device 106 can then transmit a request to play device 104to acquire an identifier of information associated with the mediacontent. Based on the identifier, user terminal device 106 can acquirethe information. Moreover, based on the identifier, the associationinformation concerned by the user may be opened on a screen of theterminal device, which acts as the second screen. Management device 108enables a system administrator to configure or update the identifierinformation as required.

In some embodiments, interaction device 118 can be implemented with alow-power consumption wireless communication module. Such a module canbe compatible with one or more Bluetooth protocols, such as BluetoothLow Energy (BLE) (e.g., BLE4.0), conventional Bluetooth function(BT3.0/2.x), or both. As for user terminal device 106, most terminaldevices can support the conventional Bluetooth wireless protocol. Inaddition, there is an increasing number of terminal devices that areprovided with BLE. For example, iPhone 4S and higher versions, andterminal devices installed with Android 4.3 or higher versions, aregenerally provided with BLE. Therefore, the playing device and the userterminal device can perform interaction through the BLE protocol.

As to be described below, the aforementioned multi-screen interactionincludes interaction between playing device 104 and user terminal device106. In some embodiments, the aforementioned multi-screen interactionalso includes interactions between server 110 and user terminal device106. Server 110 can also be configured to interact with managementdevice 108 and playing device 104 to configure or to update theinformation associated with the media content being played. In someembodiments, at least parts of server 110 and management device 108 canbe integrated together as a single device. In some embodiments, at leastparts of management device 108 and playing device 104 can also beintegrated together as a single device.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 200 for providinginformation associated with media content, consistent with embodimentsof the present disclosure. In some embodiments, exemplary method 200 canbe performed by playing device 104 of FIG. 1 (or an apparatus withaccess to it). The playing device also includes a wireless communicationmodule (e.g., included in interaction device 118), and stores a mappingtable (e.g., at storage device 116) that includes a plurality ofidentifiers of information associated with media content. Details aboutthe mapping table are to be described below. Method 200 comprises thefollowing steps:

In step S201, playing device 104 broadcasts communication addressinformation associated with the wireless communication module, whichenables a terminal device with corresponding wireless communicationmodule (e.g., user terminal device 106) to receive informationtransmitted by the playing device.

Multi-screen interaction can be implemented when both the playing deviceand the user terminal device include conventional wireless communicationmodules. The wireless communication module can be implemented withdifferent wireless standards. For example, the wireless communicationmodule can be a conventional Bluetooth module. In that case, the devicesneed to be paired before a connection is established between them. Totrigger the pairing process, the user terminal device can first searchfor other wireless communications devices. From the list of discoveredwireless communications devices, a user can select, via the userterminal device, a playing device that is playing certain media contentviewed by the user, and its associated information. Such information caninclude a name associated with the playing device and can be broadcastedby the playing device. A playing device can then be selected for pairingbased on its name. In some cases, a client-side application installed inthe user terminal device can also automatically trigger the process ofsearching for a playing device by searching for other Bluetooth devices.For example, the application can detect, through a positioning system,that the user is currently located at a certain public place. From theinformation stored at a pre-established database, the application candetermine a list of playing devices located in that public place. Aplaying device that meets certain criteria (e.g., matching a pre-storedplaying device name) can be selected from the list for the matching.After the pairing succeeds, the two devices (the user terminal deviceand a playing device) exchange their communication addresses (e.g., MACaddresses) to establish a communication connection. In this case, uponreceiving an instruction to acquire information associated with themedia content, the client application of the user terminal device canwirelessly transmit a request for the information to the wirelesscommunication module of the paired playing device.

In some cases, the pairing process can affect the efficiency ofacquisition of the information. For example, the pairing can introducedelay in the acquisition of the requested information. Moreover, in acrowded place, a large number of Bluetooth devices (including the userterminal devices) can be discovered in the search process, making itdifficult to select the playing device, among the user terminal devices,that is playing the media content being viewed and inquired by the user.Furthermore, conventional Bluetooth devices can have large number ofchannels (e.g. dozens). Therefore, during searching and pairing of theuser terminal device and the playing device, both the user terminaldevice and the playing device may perform frequency hoppingcontinuously, making it difficult for each party to discover the otherparty.

In some embodiments, to mitigate the aforementioned defects, thewireless communication between the playing device and the user terminaldevice can be implemented according to the BLE (e.g., BLE4.0) protocol.BLE can provide at least the following advantages: First, BLE devices donot require authenticated connection between them, that is, a pairingprocess similar to that of conventional Bluetooth is not required.Therefore, the delay in the acquisition of the requested information canbe reduced. Second, BLE provides a broadcasting capability, whichenables the playing device to broadcast its communication addressinformation (such as, a MAC address) between a certain interval (forexample, every 100 ms). If the user terminal device also includes theBLE function, it can acquire the communication address through listeningto the broadcasting. The user terminal device can then communicatedirectly with the playing device without performing the pairing process.The user terminal device also needs not differentiate between theplaying devices and other user terminal devices, if these user terminaldevices do not broadcast. Multiple user terminal devices can acquire thecommunication address associated with the broadcasting wirelesscommunication module (in the playing device) simultaneously, or within avery small time interval, and establish a connection with it. Therefore,the efficiency for acquiring information associated with media contentcan be further improved.

In step S202, the playing device receives a request from the terminaldevice for acquiring information associated with the media content beingcurrently played in the playing device.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the playing deviceincludes a wireless communication module. Therefore, if the userterminal device also includes wireless communication capability, the twodevices can perform multi-screen interaction. Accordingly, to acquireinformation associated with media content being played in a certainplaying device, the user terminal device can send a request for theinformation to the playing device wirelessly.

In some embodiments, a client application on the user terminal device,upon receiving information broadcasted by a target playing device, canprompt the user to acquire information associated with the media contentin the playing device. The client application can then detect anacquisition instruction from the users. Different types of interfacescan be provided to the user to input an instruction. For example,controls such as buttons can be provided on a user interface, and theuser terminal device can send the request after detecting an operationof the control. In some embodiments, the user terminal device caninclude sensor devices, such as an acceleration sensor and a lightsensor, configured to detect a specific event pre-determined torepresent an instruction from the user to send the request. For example,the user terminal device can prompt the user to send an operationinstruction in the manner of “shake it.” The acceleration sensor in theterminal device can then detect a shaking action. Upon detecting theshaking action, the user terminal device can send a request of acquiringinformation associated with the media content being currently played tothe target playing device.

In step S203, the playing device determines, according to a mappingtable, an identifier of information associated with the media contentbeing currently played.

After receiving the request from the user terminal device, the playingdevice can first determine the media content being currently played. Theplay device can then determine, according to a pre-established mappingtable, an identifier of information associated with the media contentbeing currently played.

The mapping table can be pre-stored in the playing device, and canassociate various kinds of identifiers with the information associatedwith the media content. In some embodiments, the identifier includes aname of the information. The name enables the user terminal device tosearch with a pre-configured search engine, using the name as keyword.The search can then yield more details about the information. In someembodiments, the identifier includes a network address, such as aUniform Resource Locator (URL), of a location that stores the associatedinformation. The URL enables the user terminal device to retrieve moredetails about the information.

In some cases, the URL string needs to be transmitted in portions. Thisis because some wireless communication protocols (e.g., BLE 4.0) limitthe maximum size of packets being transmitted (e.g., no more than 30bytes), while the length of URL strings for the associated informationtypically exceeds the size limit (e.g., a URL for a product detail pageat an e-commerce platform). In this case, the URL can be divided into aplurality of portions, with each portion of the URL being associatedwith an identifier. The portions can then be transmitted with multiplepackets to the user terminal device. However, the division of the URLcan add delay to the acquisition of the information. Moreover, whenresponding to requests from multiple clients simultaneously, variousproblems such as congestion and transmission errors can occur.

In some embodiments, the information can be associated with apredetermined identifier. The association between the information andthe predetermined identifier can be stored in the mapping table. Thelength of the predetermined identifier can be controlled to between 8bytes and 16 bytes, allowing the identifier to be transmitted in asingle packet without requiring division. In some embodiments, a server(e.g., server 110 of FIG. 1) can store a second mapping table thatassociates the predetermined identifier with a network address throughwhich the information can be accessed. The second mapping table can bestored at the server. After the user terminal device acquires theidentifier from the playing device, the user terminal device cantransmit a second request to the server, with the second requestincluding the identifier. The server can then access the second mappingtable with the identifier, and provide the network address associatedwith the identifier to the user terminal device. The user terminaldevice can then acquire the details of the information using the usingthe network address.

The use of predetermined identifier can also mitigate the risk ofhacking. In particular, since BLE 4.0 does not require pairing, thecontent of messages transmitted under the BLE 4.0 protocol can beintercepted and tempered while en route to the user terminal device. Forexample, if the playing device transmits a network address to the userterminal device using BLE 4.0, a hacker can temper the transmittedaddress to redirect the user terminal device to another network address.On the other hand, without changing the mapping between the identifierand the associated information location (as stored at the server), thehacker cannot temper the identifier to redirect the user terminal deviceto a different network location. Such an arrangement can enhance thesecurity of the multi-screen interaction.

Media content is typically stored in the form of media files. In somecases, each media file can store the data for a specific piece of mediacontent. For example, an Audio Video Interleave (AVI) file can storedata for an advertisement of a certain product. The mapping table storedat the playing device can store a mapping between the identifier and thename of a media file. Accordingly, in step S203, the playing device candetermine a name of the media file being currently played, and thendetermine the identifier associated with the name of the media fileaccording to the mapping table.

In some embodiments, one media file can store multiple pieces of mediacontent. For example, an AVI file can store data for the advertisementsof multiple products and/or services, with each product or service beingassociated with a piece of media content. In this case, each piece ofmedia content included in the file can be marked with timestamps. Thetimestamps can be configured to represent a playing time period of thepiece of media content when the file is played. The identifier can alsoinclude a first sub-identifier that is associated with the file, and asecond sub-identifier that is associated with a piece of the mediacontent. The mapping table stored at the playing device can then providethe associations among the name of a file that stores a piece of mediacontent, the playing time period of the piece of media content, and thefirst and second sub-identifiers. Moreover, the second mapping tablestored at the server can also provide the associations among the firstand second sub-identifier, and the network addresses of the locationsthat store information associated with the piece of media content.Accordingly, in step S203, the playing device can determine a name of acurrently-played media file and, based on a progress of playing thefile, determine a current playing time period of the file. The playingdevice can then determine, from the mapping table, the first and secondsub-identifiers, based on the name of the media file and the playingtime period. The playing device can then transmit the first and secondsub-identifiers to the user terminal device, which can then acquire,from the server, a network address associated with the first and secondsub-identifiers. The network address enables the user terminal device toacquire the information associated with the portion of thecurrently-played media file.

The mapping table at the playing device can be created in differentways. In some embodiments, the mapping table is manually created andupdated by an administrator. In some embodiments, to improve theefficiency, a management device (e.g., management device 108 of FIG. 1)is provided to facilitate the generation of the mapping table. Forexample, in a situation where a name or a network address is used as anidentifier, the management device can provide a list of media contentsto be played (or being played) by the playing device. The list can beacquired from, for example, the playing device, or from other sources. Amapping table can then be created to associate each of the listed mediacontents with the name and/or network address of the informationassociated with the media content. The management device can thentransmit the mapping table back to the playing device for storage.

In some embodiments, in a situation wherein the predeterminedidentifiers are used, the server is configured to also create theidentifiers. Such an arrangement can avoid a scenario where differentmanagement devices create conflicting associations between theidentifiers and the media content (e.g., different management devicescreate the same identifier for different media content). Such conflictscan create confusion at the server which stores, with the second mappingtable, the association between the identifiers and the informationassociated with the media content.

In some embodiments, after determining a list of media contents in theplaying device, the management device can send the list of mediacontents to the server. The server can then generate an identifier foreach of the listed media contents, and returns the identifierinformation back to the management device. Based on the identifierinformation from the server, the management device can then confirm thatthe identifiers are associated with the information associated with thelisted media contents. The management device can then create the mappingtable, and provide the mapping table to the playing device for storage.In some embodiments, the management device can also receive a networkaddress for the information associated with the listed media contents,and provide the network address to the server. This enables the serverto store an association between the identifiers and the networkaddresses in the second mapping table.

In some embodiments, where one media file stores one piece of mediacontent, the list of the media content can be a list of media filenames, the process of generating the mapping table comprises:

In Step S203 a 1, a management device (e.g., management device 108 ofFIG. 1) sends, to a playing device (e.g. playing device 104 of FIG. 1),a request to acquire a media file list in the playing device. An exampleof the file list is shown in Table 1:

TABLE 1 Number Media File Name 1 123.AVI 2 234.AVI . . . . . .

In Step S203 a 2, the management device sends a request to a server(e.g., server 110 of FIG. 1) for identifiers, the request including themedia file list. The request enables the server to generate and returnan identifier for each of the listed media files. The identifiers can begenerated with an algorithm.

In Step S203 a 3, the management device acquires a URL of informationassociated with each of the media files. The URL can be designated by anadministrator. An association among the media files, the identifiers,and the URLs can be created.

In Step S203 a 4, the management device creates a first mapping tablethat associates the media file names and the identifiers, and sends thefirst mapping table to the playing device. The first mapping table canbe stored at the playing device. An example of the first mapping tableis shown in Table 2:

TABLE 2 Number Media File Name ID 1 123.AVI 00000001 2 234.AVI 00000002. . . . . . . . .

In Step S203 a 5, the management device sends the URLs associated witheach of the identifiers to the server, which enables the server to storean association between the identifiers and the URLs, in a second mappingtable. An example of the second mapping table is shown in Table 3:

TABLE 3 Number ID URL 1 00000001 URL1 2 00000002 URL2 . . . . . . . . .

In some embodiments, where one media file stores multiple pieces ofmedia content, the list of media contents acquired from a target playingdevice can associate a media file name with the time period informationcorresponding to each of the multiple pieces of media content. As anillustrative example, the playing time period of the first piece ofmedia content can be from 0 S to 30 S, and the playing time period ofthe second piece of media content is from 31 S to 45 S, and so on. Inthis case, the process of generating the mapping table may comprise:

In Step 203 b 1, a management device (e.g., management device 108 ofFIG. 1) sends, to a playing device (e.g., playing device 104 of FIG. 1),a request to acquire a media file list in the playing device.

For example, the file list is as that shown in Table 4:

TABLE 4 Number Media File Name Playing Time Period 1 123.AVI  0 S-30 S31 S-45 S . . . 2 234.AVI  0 S-15 S 16-35 S . . . . . . . . .

In Step 203 b 2, the management device designates, according to theinformation in the list, an URL of information associated with mediacontent corresponding to each playing time period.

In Step 203 b 3, the management device replaces the playing time periodinformation in the list with the URLs (or alternatively, associates theURLs with each playing time period in Table 4). The management devicethen transmits the updated list to the server. The updated list enablesthe server to generate, with an algorithm, a first sub-identifier foreach media file, and a second sub-identifier for each URL. A secondmapping table can be created to store the association among the firstand second identifiers and the URLs. An example of the second mappingtable is shown in Table 5:

TABLE 5 First Second sub-identifier sub-identifier URL 00000001 10000001URL1 10000002 URL2 . . . . . . 00000002 10000003 URL3 10000004 URL4 . .. . . . . . .

In Step 203 b 4: The server attaches the first and secondsub-identifiers into the media file list and returns the updated listback to the management device. The management device can then create thefirst mapping table to associate the identifiers with the rest of theentries in the mapping table. The first mapping table is thentransmitted to the playing device for storage. An example of the firstmapping table is shown in Table 6:

TABLE 6 Media File Media Information Number Name File Sub-ID contentSub-ID 1 123.AVI 00000001  0 S-30 S 10000001 31 S-45 S 10000002 . . . .. . 2 234.AVI 00000002  0 S-15 S 10000003 16-35 S 10000004 . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .

In some embodiments, the management device can also be used to updatethe identification information of the association information. Forexample, the URL associated with a certain piece of media content mayhave been updated. The management device can synchronize with the serverfor the updates. Also, the second sub-identifiers associated with thefirst sub-identifiers can also be updated at the management device. Themanagement device can then synchronize with the playing device and withthe server for the updates. Accordingly, a user terminal device canreceive an updated second sub-identifier, and use the secondsub-identifier to retrieve the associated URL, from which the userterminal device can acquire the associated information for displaying.

In some embodiments, management device can configure the first mappingtable at the playing device through either wireless communication orwired communication. When the configuration process is implementedthrough wireless communication, a conventional Bluetooth protocol can beused, which enables an authenticated connection to be established forthe transmission of the configuration data. With an authenticatedconnection, it becomes difficult to tamper the configuration data (e.g.,network locations of the associated information) during transmission;therefore, the security of the configuration operation can be improved.Accordingly, the playing device may be provided with both a BLE moduleand a conventional Bluetooth module, and the two forming a wirelesscommunication module. The BLE module can be configured to performmulti-screen interaction with the user terminal device, and theconventional Bluetooth module can be configured for the configurationprocess of the first mapping table at the playing device.

In step S204, the playing device returns the identifier of theassociated information through the wireless communication module to theuser terminal device. The identifier enables the user terminal device toacquire the associated information.

As described above, after the playing device determines the identifierof the information associated with the media content, the identifierinformation may be returned to the user terminal device through thewireless communication module. The user terminal device can then acquirethe information with the identifier. The information can be, forexample, a webpage listing a product at a certain e-commerce transactionplatform, and the like. The webpage can include information of interestto a user, such as the price and user comments. If the identifier of theinformation includes a network address, the user terminal device canacquire the information directly with the network address. If apredetermined identifier is being used, the identifier can betransmitted to the server to acquire the associated network address,which can then be used by the user terminal device to acquire theinformation.

Accordingly, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a wirelesscommunication module and a mapping table at a playing device, with themapping table storing identifiers of information associated with mediacontent. The wireless communication module enables the playing device toreceive a request, from a user terminal device, for informationassociated with the media content currently being played by the playingdevice. The playing device can then determine an identifier of theinformation according to the mapping table, and return the identifierinformation through the wireless communication module. The user terminaldevice can then use the identifier to acquire the information. Thewireless communication module enables multi-screen interaction to beperformed even if the playing device and the user terminal device arenot connected to the same local area network.

Moreover, since the wireless communication module can supportbroadcasting and does not need an authenticated connection, the playingdevice can broadcast a communication address associated with thewireless communication module. Accordingly, the multi-screen interactioncan be performed without the need of an authenticated connection betweenthe playing device and a user terminal device. This enables the userterminal device to acquire the information associated with the mediacontent in a more efficient manner. The multi-screen interaction,implemented with the broadcasting wireless scheme, can also be adaptedfor crowded places such as a subway station and an airport.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 300 for acquiringinformation associated with media content, consistent with embodimentsof the present disclosure. In some embodiments, exemplary method 300 canbe performed by user terminal device 106 of FIG. 1. Method 300 comprisesthe following steps:

In step S301, user terminal device 106 determines, through listening toa broadcast message, a communication address associated with a playingdevice (e.g., playing device 104 of FIG. 1) that is playing mediacontent.

In step S302, the user terminal device sends a request to thecommunication address, to acquire information associated with mediacontent from the playing device.

In some embodiments, the user terminal device can further provide promptinformation for the user. The user terminal device can then detect apre-configured operation from the user. Upon detecting an event of thepre-configured operation, the user terminal device can transmit therequest.

In step S303, the user terminal device receives an identifier ofinformation associated with the media content. The identifier isdetermined according to a mapping table. Details and functionalities ofthe mapping table have been described above with respect to Tables 2-4and are not repeated here.

In step S304, the user terminal device acquires the informationassociated with the media content based on the identifier.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 400 for associating mediacontent with identifiers of information associated with the mediacontent, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure. In someembodiments, exemplary method 400 can be performed by management device108 of FIG. 1. Method 400 comprises the following steps:

In step S401, management device 108 acquires a list of media contentsassociated with a playing device.

In step S402, the management device acquires the identifiers of theassociated with the listed media contents.

In some embodiments, the identifiers can be generated by a server (e.g.server 110 of FIG. 1) for each of the listed media contents. Themanagement device then receives the identifiers and transmits them tothe playing device. The identifiers can then be stored at a mappingtable at the playing device. The management device also acquires thenetwork addresses of the information associated with each of the listedmedia contents. The management device then sends the network addressinformation to the server, thereby enabling the server to store theassociations between the identifiers and the network addresses. Theserver can then, upon receiving a request including an identifier from auser terminal device, provide a network address associated with anidentifier, thereby enabling the user terminal device to acquire theassociated information using the network address. The structures of themapping tables can be different between a case where the listed mediafile includes only one piece of media content, and the case where thelisted media file includes multiple pieces of media content. The detailsof the different structures of the mapping tables and identifiers havebeen described above with respect to Tables 2-4, and their details arenot repeated here.

In step S403, management device 108 determines the mapping table (to bestored at the playing device) according to the identifiers of theinformation associated with the media content. The mapping table enablesthe playing device to provide an identifier of information associatedwith the media content being played at the playing device, uponreceiving a request from a user terminal device. The user terminaldevice can then use the identifier to acquire the associatedinformation. The transmission of the mapping table (and the updates)from the management device to the playing device can take place over anauthenticated wireless connection.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 500 for acquiringassociation information between media contents and identifiers ofinformation associated with the media contents, consistent withembodiments of the present disclosure. In some embodiments, exemplarymethod 500 can be performed by playing device 104 of FIG. 1. Method 500comprises the following steps:

In step S501, playing device 104 receives, from a management device(e.g., management device 108 of FIG. 1), a request for acquiring a mediacontents list.

In step S502, the playing device returns a media contents list based onlocally-stored media contents. The media contents are stored as mediafiles. In a case where each media file stores one piece of mediacontent, the media contents list includes a name of each locally storedmedia file. In a case where each media file stores multiple pieces ofmedia content, the media contents list further includes the playing timeperiod information of each piece of media content.

In step S503, the playing device receives a mapping table thatassociates one or more identifiers with the listed media contents, andstores the mapping table. The functionalities of the mapping tables andthe identifiers have been described above with respect to FIGS. 2-4 andare not repeated here.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of an exemplary method 600 for generatingassociation information between identifiers of information and networklocations of the information, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In some embodiments, exemplary method 600 can be performedby server 110 of FIG. 1. Method 600 comprises the following steps:

In step S601, server 110 receives, from a management device (e.g.,management device 108 of FIG. 1), a media contents list associated witha playing device (e.g., playing device 104).

In step S602, the server generates identifiers for each of the listedmedia contents in the media contents list.

In step S603, the server returns association information between themedia contents and the identifiers to the management device. A firstmapping table can then be created according to association information.The first mapping table can be used by the playing device to provide anidentifier associated with the media content. Examples andfunctionalities of the first mapping table have been described withrespect to Tables 1-4 and are not repeated here.

In step S604, the server receives, from the management device, thenetwork addresses of the information associated with each of the listedmedia contents.

In step S605, the server associates the identifiers with the networkaddresses in a second mapping table. The second mapping table enablesthe server to provide a network address associated with an identifierincluded in a request from a user terminal device. Examples andfunctionalities of the second mapping tables have been described abovewith respect to Tables 5-6 and are not repeated here.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 700 for providinginformation associated with media content, consistent with embodimentsof the present disclosure. System 700 can be part of a playing device(e.g., playing device 104 of FIG. 1), and is configured to implementpart of or the entirety of method 200 of FIG. 2. System 700 (or themedia playing device) stores at least one media content and a mappingtable that associates the media content with an identifier, with theidentifier being configured to identify information associated with themedia content. Referring to FIG. 7, system 700 includes a broadcastingunit 701, a request receiving unit 702, an identification informationdetermining unit 703, and an identification information returning unit704.

Broadcasting unit 701 includes a wireless module and is configured tobroadcast wirelessly communication address information associated withthe wireless communication module. A user terminal device (e.g., userterminal device 106 of FIG. 1) having a corresponding wirelesscommunication module can receives the communication address information.In some embodiments, the wireless communication module comprises aBluetooth module that has a broadcast function and does not need anauthenticated connection.

Request receiving unit 702 is configured to receive, from the userterminal device, a request to acquire information associated with themedia content being currently played in the playing device.

Identification information determining unit 703 is configured todetermine, based on the locally-stored mapping table according to thecorrespondence table, an identifier of information associated with themedia content being currently played at the playing device. In someembodiments, identification information determining unit 703 isconfigured to implement part of or the entirety of step S203 of method200. The identifier can include a network address of a location thatstores the information associated with the media content. The identifiercan also be a pre-determined identifier associated with the mediacontent. In the case where the media files stored at the playing deviceincludes a plurality of media contents, the identifier can include afirst sub-identifier associated with the media files and a secondsub-identifier associated with the media contents.

Identification information returning unit 704 is configured to returnthe identifier determined by identification information determining unit703, via the wireless communication module. The identifier enables theuser terminal device to acquire the information associated with themedia content being played at the playing device.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 800 for acquiringinformation associated with media content, consistent with embodimentsof the present disclosure. System 800 can be part of a user terminaldevice (e.g., user terminal device 106 of FIG. 1), and is configured toimplement part of or entirety of method 300 of FIG. 3. System 800includes a wireless communication module. Referring to FIG. 8, system800 includes a communication address determining unit 801, a requestsending unit 802, an identification information receiving unit 803, andan information acquiring unit 804.

Communication address determining unit 801 is configured to determine,through listening to a broadcast message, a communication addressassociated with a playing device (e.g., playing device 104 of FIG. 1)that is playing media content.

Request sending unit 802 is configured to send, through the wirelesscommunication module to the playing device, a request to acquireinformation associated with the media content. The media content can beplayed currently at the playing device and viewed by a user operatingthe user terminal device.

Identification information receiving unit 803 is configured to receivean identifier of information associated with the media content. Theidentifier is determined by the playing device according to a mappingtable (e.g., Tables 2-4 as described above).

Information acquiring unit 804 is configured to acquire the informationbased on the identifier.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 900 for generatingassociation information between media contents and identifiers ofinformation associated with the media contents, consistent withembodiments of the present disclosure. System 900 can be part of amanagement device (e.g., management device 108 of FIG. 1), and isconfigured to implement part of or entirety of method 400 of FIG. 4.Referring to FIG. 9, system 900 includes a list acquiring unit 901, anidentification information acquiring unit 902, and a mapping tabledetermining unit 903.

List acquiring unit 901 is configured to acquire a list of mediacontents from a playing device (e.g., playing device 104 of FIG. 1).System 900 and the playing device can interact with each other throughan authenticated wireless connection.

Identification information acquiring unit 902 is configured to acquireidentifiers of information associated with the media content. In someembodiments, identifier acquiring unit 902 is configured to implementpart of or the entirety of step 5402 of method 400. Identificationinformation acquiring unit 902 can acquire an identifier from a server(e.g., server 110 of FIG. 1), and transmit a network address of alocation that stores the associated information to the server, therebyenabling the server to associate the network address with theidentifier. In the case where the media files stored at the playingdevice includes a plurality of media contents, the identifier caninclude a first sub-identifier associated with the media files and asecond sub-identifier associated with the media contents.

Mapping table determining unit 903 is configured to determine a mappingtable based on the identifiers acquired by identification informationacquiring unit 902. Examples and functionalities of the mapping tablehave been described with respect to Tables 1-4 and are not repeatedhere.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 1000 for acquiringassociation information between media content and identifiers ofinformation associated with the media content, consistent withembodiments of the present disclosure. System 1000 can be part of aplaying device (e.g., playing device 104 of FIG. 1), and is configuredto implement part of or entirety of method 500 of FIG. 5. Referring toFIG. 10, system 1000 includes a request receiving unit 1001, a listreturning unit 1002, and a mapping table acquiring unit 1003.

Request receiving unit 1001 is configured to receive, from a managementdevice (e.g., management device 108 of FIG. 1), a request to acquire amedia contents list.

List returning unit 1002 is configured to return a media contents listbased on locally-stored media content.

Mapping table acquiring unit 1003 is configured to acquire a mappingtable from the management device, and stores the mapping table. Themapping table associates one or more identifiers with the listed mediacontents. Examples and functionalities of the mapping table have beendescribed with respect to Tables 1-4 and are not repeated here.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 1100 for generatingassociation information between identifiers of information and networklocations of the information, consistent with embodiments of the presentdisclosure. System 1100 can be part of a server (e.g., server 110 ofFIG. 1), and is configured to implement part of or entirety of method600 of FIG. 6. Referring to FIG. 11, system 1100 includes a listreceiving unit 1101, an identification information generating unit 1102,and association information returning unit 1103.

List receiving unit 1101 is configured to receive, from a managementdevice (e.g., management device 108 of FIG. 1), a media contents list.The management device receives the media contents list from a playingdevice (e.g., playing device 104 of FIG. 1).

Identification information generating unit 1102 is configured togenerate an identifier for each of the listed media contents.

Association information returning unit 1103 is configured to returnassociation information between the media content and the identifiers tothe management device, thereby enabling the management device to createa first mapping table that associates the identifiers with the mediacontents. Examples and functionalities of the first mapping table havebeen described with respect to Tables 1-4 and are not repeated here.

System 1100 is also configured to receive network addresses of locationsthat store the information associated with the media content, and tostore a second mapping table that associates the identifiers with thenetwork addresses. Examples and functionalities of the second mappingtables have been described above with respect to Tables 5-6 and are notrepeated here.

Based on the foregoing descriptions of the implementations, a personskilled in the art may clearly understand that the present applicationmay be implemented by software in addition to necessary universalhardware platform. Based on such an understanding, the technicalsolutions of the present application essentially, or the partcontributing to the prior art may be implemented in a form of a softwareproduct. The computer software product may be stored in a storagemedium, such as a ROM/RAM, a magnetic disk, and an optical disc, andinclude several instructions for instructing a computer device (whichmay be a personal computer, a server, or a network device) to performall or a part of the methods described in the examples of the presentapplication.

The examples of the specification are described in a progressive manner,the same or similar parts of the examples may be obtained with referenceto each other, and each example emphasizes differences from otherexamples. Especially, systems or system examples are describedrelatively simple because they are basically similar to the methodexamples, and those related parts may be obtained with reference to thepart of descriptions in the method examples. The systems and systemexamples described are merely exemplary, wherein the units described asseparated parts may or may not be physically separate, and partsdisplayed as units may or may not be physical units, may be located inone position, or may be distributed on a plurality of network units. Apart or all of the modules may be selected according to actual needs toachieve the objectives of the solutions of the present application. Aperson of ordinary skill in the art can understand and implement itwithout creative efforts.

The method and apparatus for providing media content provided in thepresent application are described in detail, specific examples areapplied in the text to describe the principles and implementations ofthe present application, and the descriptions of the examples are merelyused to help understanding of the method of the present application andcore ideals thereof; meanwhile, a person of ordinary skill in the artcan make variations on specific implementations and application rangesaccording to the ideas of the present application. In view of the above,the information of the specification should not be considered aslimitation on the present application.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method for providinginformation associated with media contents, the method comprising:broadcasting a communication address associated with a playing deviceconfigured to play the media contents, the broadcasted communicationaddress enables a user terminal device to communicate with the playingdevice; receiving, from the user terminal device, a request to acquireinformation associated with the media contents; determining, accordingto a first mapping table stored in the playing device, a firstidentifier representing a first network address of a location thatstores first information associated with the media contents, the firstmapping table including a corresponding relationship between a pluralityof identifiers and a plurality of media contents; and transmitting thefirst identifier to the user terminal device; wherein the firstidentifier enables the user terminal device to provide the firstidentifier to a server to acquire the first network address from theserver according to a second mapping table stored in the server, thesecond mapping table including a corresponding relationship between aplurality of identifiers and a plurality of network addresses oflocations that store information associated with the media contents. 2.The method of claim 1, wherein the first identifier is associated with aname of a file that stores one of the media contents; whereindetermining the first identifier associated with the first informationcomprises: acquiring the name of the file; and determining the firstidentifier based on the acquired name of the file.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first identifier includes a first sub-identifierand a second sub-identifier, the first sub-identifier being associatedwith a name of a file that stores the media contents, and a secondsub-identifier being associated with a playing time period of one of themedia contents; wherein the first network address is associated with thefirst and second sub-identifiers; wherein determining the firstidentifier associated with the first information further comprises:acquiring the name of the file; determining the first sub-identifierbased on the acquired name; and determining the second sub-identifierbased on a current playing time period.
 4. The method of claim 1,further comprising: determining a subsequent playing time periodaccording to a current playing time period; determining, based on thedetermined subsequent playing time period, a second identifierassociated with second information, the second information beingassociated with the media contents; and transmitting the secondidentifier to the user terminal device to enable the user terminaldevice to provide the second identifier to the server to acquire thesecond information.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user terminaldevice and the playing device communicate via an unauthenticatedwireless connection.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the first networkaddress is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the location that storesthe first information.
 7. The method of claim 1, where in the firstidentifier is no more than 30 bytes.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinthe first identifier is transmitted to the user terminal device in asingle data packet.
 9. A computer-implemented method for acquiringinformation associated with media contents, the method comprising:determining, from a broadcast message, a communication address of aplaying device configured to play the media contents; transmitting, tothe playing device, a first request to acquire information associatedwith the media contents to the determined communication address;receiving an identifier representing a network address of a locationthat stores the information associated with the media content, theidentifier being determined according to a first mapping table stored inthe playing device, the first mapping table including a correspondingrelationship between a plurality of identifiers and a plurality of mediacontents; transmitting, to a server, a second request including theidentifier; and receiving, from the server, the network address, thenetwork address being determined by the server based on a second mappingtable stored in the server, the second mapping table including acorresponding relationship between a plurality of identifiers and aplurality of network addresses of locations that store informationassociated with the media contents.
 10. The method of claim 9, whereinthe identifier includes a first sub-identifier and a secondsub-identifier, the first sub-identifier being associated with a name ofa file that stores the media contents, and a second sub-identifier beingassociated with a playing time period of one of the media contents;wherein the network address is associated with the first and secondsub-identifiers; wherein determining the identifier further comprises:acquiring the name of the file; determining the first sub-identifierbased on the acquired name; and determining the second sub-identifierbased on a current playing time period.
 11. The method of claim 9,wherein the network address is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of thelocation that stores information associated with the media contents. 12.The method of claim 9, where in the identifier is no more than 30 bytes.13. The method of claim 9, wherein the identifier is received in asingle data packet via an unauthenticated wireless connection.
 14. Acomputer-implemented method for associating identifiers with mediacontents, the method comprising: acquiring a listing of files of mediacontents from a playing device configured to play the media contents,wherein each of the listing of files is associated with at least onemedia content; determining, based on the listing, a first mapping tablethat associates a plurality of identifiers with the listing of files;wherein the first mapping table enables the playing device to provide afirst identifier of the plurality of identifiers in response to arequest for information associated with a first media content, the firstidentifier representing a first network address of a location thatstores first information associated with the first media content; andwherein the first identifier enables acquiring, from a server, the firstnetwork address according to a second mapping table stored in theserver, the second mapping table including a corresponding relationshipbetween a plurality of identifiers and a plurality of network addressesof locations that store information associated with the media contents.15. The method of claim 14, the method further comprising: acquiring oneor more network addresses of locations that store information associatedwith the media contents; associating the plurality of identifiers withthe one or more network addresses; and providing one of the networkaddresses in response to receiving a request that includes one of theplurality of identifiers; wherein the providing of the one of thenetwork addresses enables acquiring the first information associatedwith one of the media contents.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein eachof the plurality of identifiers is generated for each of the listing offiles.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein the one of the networkaddresses is provided via an authenticated wireless connection.
 18. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the first identifier includes a firstsub-identifier and a second sub-identifier, the first sub-identifierbeing associated with a name of a file that stores the media contents,and a second sub-identifier being associated with a playing time periodof one of the media contents; wherein the first network address isassociated with the first and second sub-identifiers; whereindetermining the first identifier further comprises: acquiring the nameof the file; determining the first sub-identifier based on the acquiredname; and determining the second sub-identifier based on a currentplaying time period.
 19. The method of claim 14, wherein the firstnetwork address is a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of the location thatstores the first information.
 20. The method of claim 14, where in thefirst identifier is no more than 30 bytes.
 21. The method of claim 14,wherein the first identifier is received in a single data packet via anunauthenticated wireless connection.